Exploring immigrant students' adjustment to learning in their new cultural setting

Abstract

The adjustment of non-English speaking immigrant students to learning was explored by comparing the learning characteristics of immigrant students with those of a matched group of Canadian students. Eleven immigrant students and eleven Canadian students from three grade 4 classrooms in three schools in a large Western Canadian urban school system were assessed on academic achievement, attitude to school, English proficiency, academic serf-concept, and quality of teacher-student interaction. Data on attitudes of teachers toward immigrant students and on attitudes of parents of immigrant students towards the mother culture and learning in a second culture were also collected. Results indicated that immigrant students did not differ significantly from Canadian students on any of these variables. Findings were supported by other Canadian studies on immigrant students and the research on second language learning. The adjustment of immigrant students to learning appeared to be dependent upon three factors: length on time in the second culture, the proportion of immigrant students within a classroom, and the cultural harmony in both home and school settings.

‘On the move’: primary age children in transition

“…Galton, Morrison and Pell (2000), for instance, concluded that the child's age and stage of development at the time of transfer are important factors in determining its impact, while Anderson, Jacobs, Schramm and Splittgerber (2000, p. 33) argued that 'the less prepared students are for systemic transitions, the greater the support they need in making them'. Reasons for failure of Grade 4 immigrants to integrate into Canadian society, according to Jamieson and Stewin (1987), included not finding the right way to express an idea, lack of comprehension of classroom set-up and not feeling accepted by or having friends, as well as teachers failing to recognise each student's unique background. Karagiannopoulou (1999), meanwhile, emphasised changing school as a major factor in a child's life and suggested that this leads to a sense of bereavement for the environment left behind: 'any transition and change can result in a period of reduced control where mastery of the psychosocial environment is reduced' (p. 28).…”